3yr reliability - winners & losers

14 February |
14:13

Detroit - Most vehicle surveys cover the beginning of the ownership experience, but seldom do they track the reliability of cars a few years down the line.

But there is a J D Power and Associates survey in the United States gets its data from owners of three-year-old cars and the results from the 2009 batch most recently surveyed shows an overall improvement of five percent from the previous year.

When study showed an average of 126 problems per 100 vehicles and the winning brand was Lexus, with a score of 71 problems per 100 vehicles.

THE WINNERS

Lexus - 71 pp100

Porsche - 94

Lincoln - 112

Toyota - 112

Mercedes-Benz - 115

Buick - 118

Honda - 119

Acura - 120

Ram - 122

Suzuki - 122

MID-FIELD

Mazda - 124

Chevrolet - 125

Industry average - 126

Ford - 127

Cadillac - 128

Subaru - 132

BMW - 133

GMC - 134

Scion - 135

Nissan - 137

Infiniti - 138

Kia - 140

Hyundai - 141

LOSERS

Audi - 147

Volvo - 149

Mini - 150

Chrysler - 153

Jaguar - 164

Volkswagen - 174

Jeep - 178

Mitsubishi - 178

Dodge - 190

Land Rover - 220

INDIVIDUAL HEROS

The Lexus RX was the most reliable individual model, with just 57 problems per 100 vehicles and J D Power also listed many segment winners.

The Scion XD was the most reliable sub-compact car, followed by the Toyota Yaris, while the Toyota Prius edged out the Ford Focus in the compact class.

The mid-sized title went to the Hyundai Sonata and the mid-sized premium title went to the Audi A6.

The Toyota RAV4 was the best compact crossover and Mazda's MX-5 topped the compact sporty vehicle list.

Emphasising the importance of vehicle dependability on sales, JD Power said that 54 percent of owners who don't experience any problems with their vehicles stay with that brand for their next purchase. That loyalty rate slips to 41 percent when three or more problems are experienced.